"I'm ready to go," Woods said in between shots. "I have way more shots now, because I've played way more golf. I only had a handful of shots back then. And you just saw a session where I hit everything. And I had control of everything. I can hit all the shots now, on call."

Woods, who has not played since his T-10 finish at the 2015 Wyndham Championship as he recovered from back surgery, delayed his return to action by withdrawing from his last two scheduled tee times at the Safeway Open and the Turkish Airlines Open, and he stood by those decisions on Sunday as he prepared to tee it up at this week's Hero World Challenge.

“It was a smart decision in the end to pull out of the tournaments,” Woods said. “The competitor inside me wanted to go so badly, I was itching to go, I had been playing at home, and I thought I could get it around. I had played feeling worse and won golf tournaments. But I finally decided why rush … I had waited more than a year, so let’s wait a little more and get it right.”

Woods admitted that he might have to fight some first tee jitters, but the 14-time major winner is eager to put the lengthy layoff behind him.

“Yes, I’m nervous,” said Woods. “I care. If I care, I’m nervous … If I wasn’t nervous, that would mean I didn’t care. I don’t want to be out there flat. I want to be out here so bad. And now I am.”